The Palestinian film Omar has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language Film category, making it the second Palestinian film to be nominated for the prestigious golden statuette. Omar, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, will be competing against films from Belgium, Cambodia, Denmark and Italy. Abu-Assads Paradise Now was nominated for the Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2005. Omar tells the story of a baker of the same name who is arrested and beaten by Israeli intelligence agents after three young Palestinians decide to kill an Israeli soldier. He is forced to work as a double agent for Israeli intelligence, and the film follows the difficult choices he makes and the cat-and-mouse game he plays with Israeli authorities. The film, shot on location in Nazareth in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories, won the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:44:17 +0000